Daily Archives: November 5, 2013

by JANE MCCARTHY & KREM.com

KREM.com

Posted on November 4, 2013 at 4:09 PM

Updated today at 7:00 PM

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A Spokane County Major Crimes Detective is digging into a 43-year-old cold case involving the murder of a little boy. New DNA samples are being tested to help lead detectives to the boys killer.

It was 1970 when David Willoughby left his home in on North Elm to hike with a friend to the Spokane Airport to watch planes come and go. Somewhere along the way, Willoughbys friend turned back. Willoughby kept going.

WATCH: Spokane County's newest weapon to track unsolved murders

A driver remembered seeing the little boy walking alone in the Sunset Hill area along Highway 2. Then, Willoughby disappeared.

Willoughbys body was found discarded in the tangled underbrush of Pend Oreille County Park 18 days after he went missing. He had been strangled and sexually assaulted. The Spokane Coroners Office said Willoughby was alive for 8 to 10 days after his disappearance.

Spokane County Major Crimes Detective Kirk Keyser is hoping to bring Willoughbys killer to justice. The fact that the boy was murder 43 years ago is part of what is driving him to solve the case.

Here is the original post:
DNA clues being tested in 43-year-old cold case

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Nov-2013

Contact: Clare Ryan clare.ryan@ucl.ac.uk 44-020-310-83846 University College London

A new way to build membrane-crossing pores, using Lego-like DNA building blocks, has been developed by scientists at UCL, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton.

The approach provides a simple and low cost tool for synthetic biology and the technique has potential applications in diagnostic devices and drug discovery. The research is featured in the current issue of the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Membrane pores are the gateways controlling the transport of essential molecules across the otherwise impermeable membranes that surround cells in living organisms. Typically made from proteins, pores of different sizes control the flow of ions and molecules both and in and out of the cell as part of an organism's metabolism.

Our understanding of membrane pores comes both from the study of both natural pores, and from equivalent structures built in the lab by synthetic biologists. But synthetic proteins are notoriously difficult to handle due to the complex and often unpredictable ways in which their structures can fold. Even minor protein misfolding changes a protein's properties, meaning that building synthetic pores out of proteins can be risky and time-consuming.

A more straightforward approach is so-called 'rational engineering' using Lego-like DNA building blocks. Although generally known as life's genetic code, DNA strands, which are chemically much simpler than proteins, are far easier and more predictable to work with than proteins. As such they are a useful material for building nanoscale structures in the lab.

"DNA is a construction material that follows very simple rules", said Dr Stefan Howorka (UCL Chemistry). "New nanostructures can be easily designed using a computer programme, and the elements fit together like Lego bricks. So we can build more or less whatever we like."

Using this approach, the team built a tiny tube measuring just 14 nanometres along and 5.5 nanometres across (around 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair). This formed the main part of their artificial nanopore. However, to insert the tube into a cell membrane, a key challenge had to be addressed: the water-soluble DNA-based structure will not embed itself into the greasy membrane which is composed of lipids.

Visit link:
Designer piercings: New membrane pores with DNA nanotechnology

Earl Arde Mercer (Jail photo/file)

TEMPLE (November 4, 2013) A man whos serving an 18-month state jail sentence in an unrelated case has been served with an arrest warrant charging aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 2006 sexual assault of a Temple girl, who was 13 at the time of the attack.

An affidavit for the warrant, which was served last Thursday, says Earl Arde Mercer, 30, of Temple, had a sexual relationship with the girl in 2006.

When the family of the teenage girl filed a report, evidence including DNA was collected from the victim and preserved, but investigators hit a dead end in their search for a suspect.

But when Mercer was sent to the Bartlett State Jail earlier this year for the unrelated offense, his DNA was routinely collected for a national database.

When the Texas Department of Public Safety ran the DNA sample through the system it matched the evidence from the 2006 child sexual assault case.

On Monday Bell county deputies went to the state jail armed with another warrant, this time to collect another DNA sample from Mercer to confirm the match.

"It's just a matter of time that they're going get caught. Many of these individuals do believe that they're not going be caught and when I went to execute the search warrant today to get DNA on Mercer he was quite surprised," said Michele Cianci with the Bell County Sheriff's Department said.

See original here:
DNA Links Jailed Man To Local Child Sexual Assault Case

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hkbhrq/dna_sequencing) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's updated report "DNA Sequencing - Technologies, Markets and Companies" to their offering.

This report briefly reviews basics of human genome variations, development of sequencing technologies, and their applications. Current large and small sequencers are described as well as companies developing them. Various applications of sequencing are described including those for genetics, medical diagnostics, drug discovery and cancer. Next generation sequencing technologies, both second and third generations, are reviewed. Companies developing software for analysis of sequencing data are also included. Selected academic institutes conducting research in sequencing are also listed.

Current market is mostly for research applications and future markets will be other applications related to healthcare. The value of DNA sequencer market in 2012 is described with estimates for 2017 and 2022. Various methods and factors on which market estimates depend are described briefly. Markets are tabulated according to geographical areas as well as applications. Small sequencers form the basis of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Several marketing strategies have been outlined.

The report includes profiles of 110 companies involved in sequencing and their 113 collaborations. The report text is supplementd by 38 tables, 13 figures and 350 selected references to the literature.

Key Topics Covered

0. Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. DNA Sequencing Technologies

3. Role of Bioinformatics in Sequencing

See more here:
Research and Markets: DNA Sequencing - Technologies, Markets and Companies: New 2013 Update